Profiling Frank Oppenheimer from NPR Podcast Science Friday

Author K.C. Cole writes about physicist and Exploratorium-founder Frank Oppenheimer in Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens. Cole, a friend of Oppenheimer's, digs into FBI files and personal memories to describe the complex man also called the "Uncle of the Atomic Bomb." Originally broadcast Aug. 7, 2009.

Download the podcast here.

Who is Mrs. Cohen from Hadera, and should Israelis care where she puts her money? from Slate Magazine by Daniel Gross

TEL AVIV, Israel—Amram Aharoni has a serious résumé, but he has the mien of a comedian. On Sunday at the Globes' Israel Business Conference, Aharoni, who teaches investment theory and finance at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, ran through his many qualifications—degrees from Tel Aviv University, a doctorate in finance from New York University, many years of experience in the financial sector—before throwing up his hands. "I'm supposed to be a specialist in the capital markets, but I want to confess that many times I know nothing. How can I not foresee the future and any junior analyst can tell me what's going to happen?" In laying out the modern case against active asset management, Aharoni name-checked the efficient markets hypothesis, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan, and ran through a bunch of gems from the behavioralist playbook (like those surveys that show most people think they're above-average drivers). Aharoni assembled a series of analysts' quotes making foolish and wrong short-term market projections, and displayed a chart showing that out of a few dozen Israeli investment funds, only three beat their benchmark indices over eight years.

Read the full Slate article here.

David Javerbaum from KQED's Forum Podcast

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" producer David Javerbaum joins us to discuss his new book, "What to Expect When You're Expected: A Fetus's Guide to the First Three Trimesters." We'll also talk to Javerbaum about his work writing the lyrics for the special "A Colbert Christmas," which was recently nominated for a 2010 Grammy. Javerbaum is also one of three principal authors of the bestselling textbook parody "America: The Book."

Download the podcast here. See also: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book)